Mad Gasser of Mattoon

Mad Gasser of Mattoon ( crazy Gasvergifter of Mattoon ) - also known as The Anesthetic Prowler (= anesthetic / narcotic drifter), The Mad Anesthetist , The Phantom Anesthetist , The Mad Gasser of Roanoke or just Mad Gasser - was the name given to a or to more than one person who has been attributed a series of apparent gas attacks. These incidents occurred in Botetourt County , Virginia during the early 1930s and Mattoon , Illinois in the mid-1940s. Whether these attacks actually occurred, whether there was a connection between them, and how to explain them is still debated.

Appear

Most contemporary descriptions of Mad Gasser are based on the testimony of Mr. and Mrs. Bert Kearney of 1408 Marshall Avenue, victims of the first Mattoon case reported in the media. They described the appearance as a tall, thin man in black clothes and a tight-fitting cap. Another report made a few weeks later describes him as a man dressed like a woman. The Mad Gasser was also described with a "flit gun" in hand, an agricultural tool used to spray pesticides , which he allegedly used to spread the gas.

Botetourt

The first actual Mad Gasser incident occurred in Botetourt County, Virginia, the attacks occurred between December 22, 1933 and February 1934.

chronology

The first reported incident occurred at Cal Huffmann's home in Haymakertown, Botetourt County, where there were three reported attacks during a single night.

At about 10 p.m. on December 22, 1933, Mrs. Huffman noticed an unusual odor and felt sick. The smell and nausea came back around 10:30 pm, at which point Cal Huffman contacted the police. A third attack followed around 1 a.m., this time spreading all over the house; a total of eight Huffmans family members were affected by the gas attack, along with Ashby Henderson, a guest who was in the house. Her symptoms included headache, nausea, a swollen face, and constriction of the mouth and throat. Alice Huffman, the daughter of Cal Huffman, had a more violent reaction to the gas than any of the other residents of the house: her throat constricted so much that she stopped breathing and had to be resuscitated. She also suffered from convulsive seizures for several weeks after the attack, at which time the local doctor, SF Driver, stated that these were most likely caused by the anxiety created by the attack and less by the effects of the gas itself.

Other recorded attacks were:

• January 16: F. Duval in Bonsack (a suspicious car with a man and a woman in it was seen not far from the attack)
• January 19: Mrs. Campbell in Cloverdale (the victim was the wife of a former judge)
• January 21: Mr. and Mrs. Howard Crawford in Cloverdale (The victims were almost overwhelmed by smoke when they returned home)
• January 22: Ed Reedy, George C. Riley and Raymond Etter at Carvin's Cove (The three houses were within two miles of each other and were attacked one after the other from north to south)
• January 23: Mrs. RH Hartsell at Pleasantdale Church (a barricade was erected outside the door to prevent easy escape, but the Hartsells were not home during the attack)
• January 25: Chester Snyder in Cloverdale (Although no gas was released, it was reported that Snyder had scared away a drifter. Evidence found by police confirms that an unknown person was hiding near the Snyder house and The drift was never confirmed to be connected to the gas incidents.)
• Jan 28: Mr. and Mrs. Ed Stanley and three guests of the Cloverdale house (Four people were seen running away from the crime scene)
• February 3: Mr. and Mrs. A Scaggs and five other adults in Nace (victims were unusually badly affected by the gas)
• February 9: JG Schafer in Lithia (After the attack, sections of discolored snow were discovered near the victim's house. The snow had a sweet smell; analysis showed it contained sulfur , arsenic and mineral oils . Authorities speculated that this was possibly residues of insecticides .)

Several other incidents were recorded, but authorities ruled that most of them were a combination of hoaxing and frightened local residents who perceived common smells as a sign of a gas attack.

The gas used in the attacks was never identified. Dr. WN Breckinridge, who worked with the police, was convinced that it was neither chloroform nor tear gas , but contained traces of formaldehyde . Chlorine was also thought of , but this was later questioned again.

Mattoon

The second wave of Mad Gasser incidents occurred in Mattoon, Illinois. It began in late August 1944 and the attacks continued for several weeks.

chronology

The first case in 1944 occurred in a house on Grant Ave. in Mattoon on August 31st. Urban Raef was awakened by a strange smell in the early hours of the morning. He felt sick, felt weak, and had a fit of vomiting. Believing the cause of the seizure was from household gas, Raef's wife tried to check the kitchen stove to see if there was a problem with the gas flame. However, she found that she was partially paralyzed and unable to get out of bed. A similar incident was reported later that evening by a young mother who lived nearby. She woke up to hear her daughter cough, but was unable to get out of bed either.

Explanations

There are three primary theories about the Mad Gasser incidents: mass hysteria, industrial pollution or an actual physical attacker, although there are other implausible theories such as aliens or even a connection with the Nazi regime . Authors devoted to the paranormal also wrote about the events.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Jerome Clark: Unexplained! 347 Strange Sightings, Incredible Occurrences, and Puzzling Physical Phenomena . Visible Ink Press, Detroit 1993, ISBN 0-8103-9436-7 .
2. ↑ ^{a b} Aesthetic Prowler ”on the loose Mrs. Kearney and daughter first victims. . In: Daily Journal-Gazette (Mattoon) , September 2, 1944. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007 Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved November 1, 2006.  
3. ↑ Victims of gas prowler now 25 . In: Charleston Daily Courier , September 9, 1944. Archived from the original on June 20, 2006 Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved November 1, 2006.  
4. ↑ Scott Maruna: The Mad Gasser of Mattoon: Dispelling the Hysteria . Swamp Gas Book Co., February 27, 2003, ISBN 0-9728605-0-9 . Archived from the original on December 1, 2008 Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (Accessed March 11, 2008). 
5. ↑ At Night in Mattoon . In: Time Magazine . September 18, 1944. 0040-781X. Retrieved November 1, 2006.
6. ↑ Travis McHenry: Into the Abyss: The Memoirs of a Paranormal Adventurer 2006.
7. ^ ^{A b c d} Troy Taylor: The mad gasser of Virginia and & Mattoon, Illinois . In: Ghosts of the Prairie . 2002. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 1, 2006. 
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Troy Taylor: Into the shadows . Whitechapel Productions, 2002, ISBN 1-892523-21-3 .
9. ↑ ^{a b} The Mad Gasser of Roanoke . In: MysteryMag . 2005. Archived from the original on April 23, 2011. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 1, 2006.